


Misplaced Trust

by Code_The_Poet



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, P4G spoilers, yosuke is a good friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:01:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28205040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Code_The_Poet/pseuds/Code_The_Poet
Summary: Yosuke knows he can't talk Souji out of going to confront Adachi alone, but at least he can be there to pick up the pieces.Major plot spoilers for December.
Relationships: Hanamura Yosuke & Persona 4 Protagonist, Hanamura Yosuke & Seta Souji
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24
Collections: Quality Persona Fics





	Misplaced Trust

**Author's Note:**

> As I said in the summary, there are major plot spoilers ahead, including the identity of the true killer and some Golden-only content. You have been warned!
> 
> To me, this scene was a perfect example of what makes Yosuke such a great friend to the player. Even though he doesn't agree with your decision, he understands your reasoning and has resolved to be there for you regardless. I liked it so much that I decided to do a retelling with some added content. Hope you enjoy!

_Senpai, please don’t go on alone._

Snippets of the team’s last conversation played through Yosuke’s head, clashing with each other to form a sort of discordant earworm he couldn’t seem to shake. He fiddled with the headphones around his neck, wishing he could drown out the internal noise with his music, but he knew he needed to be on high alert for the task ahead of him.

_We’re all going together, okay!?_

Yosuke could still picture Souji’s curt nod, his face carefully arranged into his usual mask of blank indifference. The hesitation had been so slight that Yosuke wasn’t even sure it had been there, but he hadn’t been able to ignore the uneasy feeling in his gut. It had persisted even after leaving the TV world and hauling Teddie home to face the parental interrogation about his sudden disappearance.

_I understand that it must hurt, since you seemed to have a personal relationship with him._

That was why Yosuke had excused himself before his mom could convince him to sit down for supper and had hopped on his bike, racing back to Junes as fast as he could. It was also why he was now crouched just around the corner of an aisle in the electronics section, waiting and hoping that he was wrong.

_Maybe that’s why… I feel a presence kind of like yours up ahead._

The sound of footsteps made Yosuke’s heart leap into his throat and he instinctively pressed himself closer to the shelves. He wanted to believe that it was just some customer who was determined to buy a full-size TV late on a Wednesday night, but he had spent too many hours following those very footsteps through the winding corridors of the TV world to not recognize them.

_He might be calling to you._

The footsteps paused for a moment and Yosuke stopped breathing, worried that he had been spotted despite his best efforts. Then, after an impossibly tense moment, they resumed.

_Wait, never mind! Forget I said that!_

He peered around the corner of the aisle just in time to see Souji disappear into the TV.

_Promise us._

Alone.

Yosuke stood frozen for a moment before the burning in his chest reminded him that he needed to breathe. He let out the stale air in his lungs in a shaky exhale, crossing his arms to keep them from trembling. Souji had just gone to a strange world to confront a murderer alone, and Yosuke, his best friend, his _partner_ , hadn’t done a thing to stop him.

Souji would be fine, Yosuke tried to convince himself as he started to pace up and down the aisle. He was the leader for a reason, he had all those powerful Personas under his command, he was… he was _Souji_ , the transfer student who charmed everyone he met and loved his little cousin more than anything. What would Yosuke tell his family if he didn’t come back? What would he tell the rest of the team? _“Sorry guys, I watched him go and didn’t do a thing to stop him. Guess I’m just as pathetic as you all thought.”_

But what could he have done? Souji was stubborn, he wouldn’t have let himself be talked out of it once his mind was made up. He probably thought he _owed_ this to Adachi or some crap like that. It would be just like Souji and his stupid big heart to believe he still had some sort of obligation to that murderous creep.

Yosuke shoved his hands in his pockets, resisting the urge to take out one of his knives and spin it. It would calm him down, sure, but he had already been arrested once for swinging weapons around in public and wasn’t eager to repeat that experience. Instead, he pulled out his phone to check the time.

Five minutes since Souji had disappeared into the TV. If he wasn’t out in the next ten, Yosuke was going after him.

Wait. If he went after him alone, wouldn’t that be no better than what Souji had done? Maybe he should call for backup. Yosuke opened his contacts and scrolled down to Chie’s number, his finger hovering over the call button.

Then he flipped his phone closed and shoved it back in his pocket. He couldn’t expose Souji like that. The rest of the team trusted him, and Yosuke wouldn’t be able to stand the betrayal in their eyes when they found out their own leader had ignored their warning.

Ha, maybe Souji’s big heart was rubbing off on him.

Yosuke ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath. Junes was closing soon, not to mention his parents were probably worried after he’d ran off with no explanation. _“It’s nothing, Mom, just gotta go make sure my best friend survives his confrontation with his uncle’s co-worker who’s secretly a murderer.”_ Yeah, like _that_ would have gone over well.

A flash of light from behind Yosuke caught his attention, and he turned to see the characteristic white ripples spreading across the TV screen. Equal parts fear and relief shot through him, but he managed to keep just enough control over his emotions to lean casually against the shelves behind him.

Then Souji was standing in front of the TV and Yosuke was fighting back the urge to rush forward and make sure he was okay.

“Welcome back,” he heard himself saying as he walked forward at what he hoped was an appropriately restrained pace.

Souji stared at him, a deer caught in the headlights as it waited for its impending death. _Stop thinking like that, he’s not going to die!_

“I told you not to go alone. Though I knew you would anyway…”

Souji didn’t say anything, but he at least had the decency to look away with a guilty expression so Yosuke pressed on.

“It’s okay, I understand. I’ll keep it a secret from the others, and I won’t ask about Adachi for now.” He couldn’t keep the hurt out of his voice when he added, “But come on… you should trust us more.”

Souji brought his eyes back to Yosuke’s face, and the miserable look in them made Yosuke’s irritation fade as quickly as it had come.

“Anyway, I’m glad you’re safe,” he said with a wink and a grin, clearing his throat dramatically and putting on his best customer service voice in an attempt to break the tense atmosphere. “Attention customers, it is now closing time. Please visit us again tomorrow.”

Yosuke expected his best friend to smile at his joke, maybe thank him for understanding, and allow himself to be led out of the store with little fuss. But Souji continued to stand there, frozen, and suddenly Yosuke got the feeling that something was very wrong.

“Partner?” he asked, stepping forward.

A shudder ran through Souji’s entire body, and both his hands came up to cover his face. “I’m so stupid,” came his muffled voice, followed by… was that a sob?

“No, you’re not,” Yosuke said fiercely. “I still trust your judgement. You were right about Namatame, after all.”

Souji started to cry harder, and Yosuke mentally kicked himself for even opening his mouth. Why did he always make things worse in situations like this?

“I tr—trusted him too,” Souji managed to choke out between sobs.

“Who, Namatame?”

Souji shook his head frantically and made a strangled noise, then jerked his body in the direction of the TV behind him.

 _Oh._ Yosuke swallowed, trying to dislodge the lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat. “You mean Adachi.”

“He c—came to my house. He pl—played with Nanako.” Souji’s words were broken up by gasps that shuddered through his whole body. “I—I didn’t think—”

“None of us did,” interrupted Yosuke. “Not even Dojima, and if he didn’t notice this about his own partner then how can you expect yourself to have all the answers?”

“I’m—leader,” Souji tried to object, his words becoming less and less intelligible. “Everyone—counting—me—”

“So what?” Yosuke’s crossed arms were starting to hurt from how tight he was gripping them in his effort to stay calm. “Just because you’re the leader you can’t make mistakes like the rest of us? You’ve seen me screw up a million times and you always smile and tell me I’ll get it right next time. Can’t you let me do the same for you?”

Souji brought his hands down from his face to stare at Yosuke in surprise, and _god_ he looked like a mess. Then he rubbed the sleeve of his school uniform across his tearstained face and said in a surprisingly steady voice, “He shot at me.”

It was so matter-of-fact, so _Souji_ that it took Yosuke’s brain an embarrassingly long time to process the meaning behind his words.

“What the _hell!?_ ” he shrieked, rushing forward to inspect his friend for any sign of injury. “Why didn’t you say anything before? We’ve got to get you to the hospital, I’ll call Naoto—”

“Yosuke.” There was a hint of amusement in Souji’s voice that didn’t suit the severity of the situation. He gently removed Yosuke’s hands from where they had been patting him down. “I’m fine. He missed. I think he was just trying to scare me.”

Yosuke scowled. “That _bastard!_ I can’t wait to punch his stupid smug face in.” Then, softer, he added, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Souji nodded, but his gaze dropped to the floor and Yosuke could see that tears were starting to well up in his eyes again. He reacted without thinking, closing the rest of the distance between them and pulling his best friend into his arms. Belatedly, his mind realized what he had just done and started to berate him, but even his most insistent doubts fled when Souji relaxed against him.

“I’m here, partner.” The words sounded lame in his head and even lamer out loud, but Yosuke forced them out anyways in the hope that it was at least somewhat reassuring. “You’re safe. I won’t let him get you.”

Souji rested his head on Yosuke’s shoulder and continued to sniffle for a few minutes until his breathing started to even out again. Then, he lifted his head and Yosuke could see an amused glint in his reddened eyes.

“I thought hugs were for girls.”

All of the sudden, Yosuke became acutely aware of the fact that he was standing in the electronics section of a department store—his workplace—with his arms around another boy. He stumbled back as if he’d been burned and Souji started shaking again, but this time with laughter.

“H—hey, maybe I just—” Yosuke stammered, but Souji continued to laugh. “Cut that out, dammit! Are you Yukiko or something?”

Souji sobered up immediately. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I appreciate it, really.”

His friend was trying to meet his eyes, but Yosuke could only stare intently at the dirty tile floor beneath their feet. “That time you hugged me, when I—well, you know—it really helped, okay? I wanted to do the same for you.”

“Yosuke. Partner.” Souji’s earnest tone convinced Yosuke to finally look up. “Thank you,” he said with the utmost sincerity.

Yosuke grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. “Hey, I’m just glad you’re not crying your eyes out anymore. I’m not as good with this sort of thing as you are.”

Souji gave him a small smile. “I think you should give yourself more credit.”

The fluorescent lights above them suddenly dimmed, and Yosuke looked around in panic. “Crap, is it closing time already? Come on, we’ve gotta get you home.” He grabbed Souji’s arm and started dragging him through the aisles of the empty store.

It wasn’t until they were outside in the chill night air that Souji pulled back. “You’re not going to drag me all the way home, are you?”

“Well, yeah,” Yosuke admitted, waving his arm at the fog around them. “You really want to walk through this alone?”

Souji bit his lip and didn’t respond, staring down at his shoes.

“What’s wrong?”

His friend let out a shaky breath. “He knows where I live…”

“Oh. Right.” Yosuke couldn’t help but picture Souji, all alone at home while Dojima and Nanako were in the hospital, peering out of the window in fear that Adachi would make another move against him. That was unacceptable, he realized, and came to a swift decision. “Come home with me.”

Souji’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Come home with me,” Yosuke repeated patiently. “My parents won’t mind, they put up with Teddie after all. Plus, Ted’ll be thrilled to see you.”

He started to back away. “I couldn’t possibly intrude—”

“You wouldn’t be intruding, you dumbass.” When Souji still looked unconvinced, Yosuke decided to try a different tactic. “Besides, don’t you think leaving me to worry about whether you’re safe is much more intrusive than _accepting when people care about you?”_ The end of his question came out a little more aggressively than he’d intended, and Souji flinched at the harsh tone.

“You’re right,” he said, hanging his head in defeat. “I’m sorry.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Yosuke’s voice was cheerful again now that he had gotten his way, and he winked to show he wasn’t really mad. “Though we really should get going or my parents _will_ mind that I was out so late.” He started to walk, but stopped when he realized his friend still wasn’t following. “What _now?”_

“I think you’re forgetting something.”

Realization dawned on Yosuke. “My bike!” he cried, racing back to grab it from where he had abandoned it on his way in. Thankfully it hadn’t been stolen, because he’d been too distracted to remember to lock it up.

“Aren’t you going to offer me a ride?” teased Souji as they fell into step, Yosuke wheeling the bike along beside him.

“Does it look like this piece of junk can hold two people?” he protested, gesturing theatrically and narrowly avoiding dropping the bike in the process.

Souji made a face. “Right, we’d probably both end up rolling around in a garbage can.”

Yosuke swatted at him with his free hand. “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”

“Nope.”

“Yeah, that’s fair.” Yosuke tried to grimace, but it ended up as more of a grin. _I’m just glad you’re still around to say stuff like that._

“Me too,” said Souji, and crap, had he really said that out loud? But Souji was smiling too, so maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

“Hey partner, we’ll definitely take him down together, alright? He won’t get away with everything he’s done.”

Souji made a noise of agreement. “Sounds like a plan.”

Yeah, they would put a stop to this. The whole team together, with Souji in the lead. It was the least they could do for everyone, for Dojima and Nanako and anyone else who had been hurt by Adachi.

_For Saki-senpai._

Yosuke wasn’t speaking out loud this time (he was being extra careful about that), but Souji shot him a sympathetic look and leaned into his side. “Tired,” was all he said when Yosuke opened his mouth to question him, so he gave up and shut it again. He’d long accepted Souji’s seemingly telepathic ability to tell when someone else needed a gesture of comfort.

And if Yosuke just barely leaned back into him, well, no one but he and Souji needed to know.


End file.
